Wildlife
Wildlife is the fourth episode of Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales. Plot As the episode begins, Mr. Conductor is in an outdoor park struggling to keep a cookie from being snatched by a bird. The cookie is intended to be a gift to his neighbours, the squirrels. He berates the wild animals' bad manners as being comparable to those of coaches, and proceeds to tell the story of how some coaches caused trouble for Sir Handel in "Four Little Engines." Edward is sent to be mended. On the way, he meets a narrow gage engine called Skarloey, who is resting in a shed. The two talk for a while, then Edward leaves. Meanwhile, Sir Handel is pulling some coaches when he had to stop suddenly because a flock of sheep is on the line. The coaches are angry and bump him off the rails. Sir Handel limps home, but there is not an engine to take the passengers home. Skarloey volunteers, and makes good time until a spring breaks coming down a hill. Skarloey is determined, and manages to get home. Skarloey reflects afterwards that he is in no state to pull trains, but is delighted when his driver tells him he will be mended. The animals continue to pester Mr. Conductor for his cookie. He comments that freight cars are even more badly behaved than coaches, and remembers when Thomas was new and encountered some very naughty freight cars, as in the tale of "Trouble for Thomas." Thomas is bored with his job of shutting coaches and complains to the other engines about it. One night, Edward offers Thomas to swap jobs with each other. Edward would shunt coaches, while Thomas took his freight cars. With this, Thomas happily agrees. Unfortunately, When Thomas takes Edward's cars, he did not know how troublesome the cars could be and loses control of them. The cars push him down a hill and Thomas slips into a siding, where some buffers prevent a nasty accident. Sir Topham Hatt arrives and advises Thomas that he should learn more about freight cars if he is to become a Really Useful Engine. Back in the park, Mr. Conductor sits on a bench and waits for the squirrels to arrive. He complains that they are late as usual and aren't dependable creatures. He goes on to say that these particular squirrels are cheekier than most. They chatter so much that they remind him of S.C. Ruffey and the dreadful time he once gave to Oliver, in the story "Toad Stands By." When Oliver returns from the Works, the cars, prompted by their ringleader, S.C. Ruffey, sing Pop Goes Old Ollie to spite him, and refuse to stop even when threatened by Thomas, Percy and Duck. Toad, fearing that the matter may escalate, asks to speak with Oliver and gives him an idea. Oliver, feeling a sense of responsibility, agrees with Toad. Oliver shunts S.C. Ruffey and his lieutenants and prepares to pull them, but S.C. Ruffey whispers to the trucks to hold back, and they do. Oliver, however, is determined and simply pulls S.C. Ruffey apart. When Sir Topham Hatt scrutinises the remains, he attributes it to S.C. Ruffey's poor build, but tells Oliver to keep it under his dome. After the incident, the cars become fearful of Oliver and whisper to each other not to anger him. S.C. Ruffey, who was repaired, wisely keeps his mouth shut. Next, Mr. Conductor has to fend off a mouse's attempt to take the cookie. He calls mice, birds and squirrels pests who are nothing but trouble, just like the freight cars in the story "Thomas Saves the Day." Thomas now works in the goods yard at the station, pushing and pulling freight cars into place. Every day he sees Sir Topham Hatt, who kindly tells Thomas that, while he may not be as big or as fast as Gordon, he can still be a really useful engine. While shunting, Thomas notices a strange green coach and two cranes and his driver explains that this is the breakdown train and it is used to lift engines, coaches, or freight cars that may come off the line. One day, Thomas is pushing freight cars when he hears an engine whistling and calling for help. The engine is James, who is the newest engine on Sodor, and he is being pushed by freight cars causing him to go far faster than normal. To make matters worse, his brake blocks are on fire. As the freight cars laugh, James disappears in the distance. Although he cannot do anything, Thomas is eager for the freight cars to be taught a lesson. Soon an alarm rings and the signalman tells Thomas that James has come off the line, so the breakdown train is needed. Thomas is coupled to the breakdown train and heads to the scene of the accident as fast as he can. A robin chirps at Mr. Conductor, who insists that the squirrels are indeed coming. Annoyed at their tardiness, Mr. Conductor ponders whether to instead give the cookie to Mr. Robin. He states that these squirrels are as thoughtless as freight cars, such as those who caused serious trouble in the story "Rusty Helps Peter Sam." The final scene finds Mr. Conductor saying goodbye to the squirrels after successfully delivering the cookie. He's very sorry to have called them pests, but still compares them to railroad cars - they're best once they've been trained, and laughs at the "train" pun he just made. The episode ends with Mr. Conductor introducing the musical finale, a song about "Toby" the tram engine. Thomas Stories * Four Little Engines * Trouble for Thomas * Toad Stands By * Thomas Saves the Day * Rusty Helps Peter Sam Song * Toby Characters *Thomas (Mentioned) *S. C. Ruffey (Mentioned) Trivia *Mr. Conductor does not appear inside Shining Time Station at all in this episode. 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